GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 162)

I'm starting to get a little panicky reading this last-minute advice stuff and as my first race gets closer. So I'm going to calm myself down by listing the tips and tricks I know so far. Any additions are welcome!

1) Show up early
2) Bring Body Glide
3) Stand to the side of your wave to avoid the churning masses
4) In the swim, find someone you can keep up with and draft
5) Sight often to avoid swimming off course
6) Wear sunscreen
7) Put helmet on (not backwards) and fasten before un-racking bike
8) Attach bib to race belt before the race, and fasten to bike in T1 area so it doesn't blow away
9) Sprinkle baby powder inside socks so they're easier to slip on wet feet
10) Mount bike somewhere beyond the mount line
11) Stay at least three bike lengths behind anyone in front of you
12) Pass on the left allowing one bike width, and do it within 15 seconds (or drop back)
13) Dismount somewhere before the dismount line
14) Remove helmet after racking bike
15) Remember to switch into running shoes

You forgot three others:
Thank a volunteer.  Especially when you may be having a "moment" on the course.  Doing so will make you feel better mentally and physically.

Remember, this is your first triathlon, but not your last.  You may do 10, 20, or 100 more of these things in your life.  This is just one.  I relate it to a MLB batter.  He might get 500, 600 at bats a year.  So any individual at-bat is important, but isn't everything.  With 499 more at-bats to go in a season, a home run, or a strike out doesn't define him as a batter.  This race doesn't define you as a triathlete.  All your training does that.  This is your celebration of that training.

Have Fun!  This is all supposed to be fun.  You'll do great!

Hey Steve!  Good luck this weekend.  Knock em dead! 

Yes, Floyd is being a pill now.  Accusing everyone of everything.  Total lack of class.  Whether it is true or not, whether others cheated doesn't excuse or lessen his cheating.  Somewhere the need to confess and admit his own cheating turned into indicting the entire sport as well. 

Motivation:  HIGH.  Looking forward to working out every day again. 

Physical condition:  LOW.  Good session on Tuesday, bad session yesterday.  15 minute bike spin to warm the legs up, then goal was a 45 minute run.  Made it 15 minutes before the hamstring started to twinge.  Wasn't outright painful, but I could feel it knotting up and spasm, so I stopped, walked home and put it on ice. 

Today: swim after work.
Tomorrow:  2-3 hour bike (flats)
Sunday:  we'll see.  Would like to try to run, but we'll just have to see how that goes. 

DENISE -

No, I'm leaving early-early tomorrow morning, hopefully by 5am. It's about 7-8 hours down there, and after I do the packet pick-up stuff I'll head down to the lake and do the first 5 (and coming back, the last 5) miles of the bike. I think. Then I will rack the bike, which has to be done tomorrow. At some point I will meet up with one of the women from my last year's group, and her husband who also races, and I think we'll have dinner together. Then to the hotel, watch the Celtics on t.v., and sleep for a few hours, likely fitfully. I'll get up about 4am, and arrive at the race site as early as possible. (This is one instance in which I efinitely practice what I preach. There have been many, many races in which, literally, I was the first racer to show up!)

Yes, I still get nervous......but it's a different type of nervous. I might've mentioned this many months ago, but towards the end of last season I got very tired of "putting on my race face". The prelude to this is going through entry lists, where available, and seeing who I know who is going to be tough to beat, and then fixating on him, or them. This is fine in small doses, but last season I was aiming at people on Sept 13, Sept 19, and Oct 3.......and it got tiresome. So, more than nervousness, i would call it "competitive anxiety" (I just made that up; not sure it's right) I liken it to be the old western gunfighter who is always looking over his shoulder to see who might be his next challenge. Something like that.

It's been a while since I raced "just for fun", and I'm not sure I could do that if I tried. I admire people who can, or those who still race even though they can no longer do it as well as they once did. I know that is somewhere down the road for me, but for now I get locked into the competitive aspects of it, and that's that.

HOWEVER, I am still very chatty on course, and will ALWAYS thank volunteers (as Steve A just said to tracey) -- always, always, always. I am great at high-fiving kids, and if someone whips past me on the bike or run, 9 times out of 10 I'll say something like "looking great". At NYC Tri last July, a woman had been running close behind me for a while, and with about a mile to go in the run she passed me and said "You are SO polite!" Uh, I thanked her for that, and then she was gone....but I really appreciated her saying so, as that's how I want to be perceived -- as someone who truly appreciates the efforts of the scores of people who are out there working hard to make my race happen.

So, I do manage to have a great time racing, and I guess that's why historically I do it so often - much, much more than 90% of the triathlon population. I just have to learn to dial back on my performance intensity, if that is even possible. (And I know, that doesn't really jive with me being so yakky while racing as hard as I can.) Go figure!

The calf is...OK...Everything in that leg is still pretty tight.  It is different then pre-race but I am not sure if I would say worse or not....I find that if I take time and really massage it with a combination of The Stick, foam roller, my thumbs, a tennis ball, and this little massage tool thingy it is pretty good.  Then it tightens back up. I think (not sure though) that heat helps it more than ice now.  I should get it looked at again, but I tried to get an appt and the closest is 2 wks off.  So I kind of said the heck with it.

Foot - much better - you got the spot!  This morning it was a no-show, hope it stays that way.  Ice and golf ball on that baby seemed to knock it back.  The arch was actually swollen after the race, it was weird.

Sorry I didn't respond to the 19th question! Duh.  So, for me Monday's are tougher for me to get off, it seems stuff really hits the fan the first 3 days of the week and mellow out the last 2 days (generally).  My guys only work 1/2 day on Friday, and on Thursday I think they are mostly thinking about the 1/2 day coming on Friday.  BUT that all said, I can definitely make it work if that is the best option for you because I have the vacation time and can take it whenever. 

Good luck everyone this weekend!! Can't wait to hear all about your races!

Cheers,

Mandy

SteveA,

That's a great way to put it!!

Thank you for the gut check. I'll need to leave a note like that on bike so I calm down and relax when I eventually get to my first tri.

Tracey,

Thanks for the list of things to do! Definitly a good one that I'll need to look back at in the future.

Just getting back to work from Dr.'s appointment #2...

This was with a General Surgeon who has hernia's listed as a specialty. He said it feels like I have a hernia on EACH side and that before we discuss anything I need an ultrasound. So that is now scheduled for June 3rd (2 weeks away and 3 days before my first scheduled triathlon). He also told me I have no restrictions. Which is great, but in my thinking I'd have an ultrasound next week and results by June 3rd I never asked about should I shelf the triathlon plans.....His e-mail address was on his card so I fired one off.

Overall I say no pain and only slight discomfort when I bend over on the right side.

I've taken Wed and Thursday off so my 'peak' time frame I think is completely shot. So its like I have a 2 week taper leading into Hawk Island (June 6th).

See you there - remember, no worries, this is a hobby and is supposed to be fun. To paraphrase the old saying 'A bad day tri-ing is still better than a good day working'. Mark

Posted this before I read Steve A's post - yeah, what he said.

Edited by TriD64 2010-05-21 12:22 PM

TRACEY -

Yup, and I'll talk this all through with you the evening before. And as I just said to Denise -- I'll be there VERY early race morning, so I can help/advise you to whatever extent you need it.

Your list is a good one, and you've covered most of the bases. Excellent!

For #8, in the days before I started wearing my race belt under my wetsuit, i would slip it over my seat or around ones of my handlebars, just to prevent it from blowing away or something.

For #4, if you can find soemone to draft off, and if after a few sightings you relaize they are a good sighter, that reduces your own need to sight. But you don't want to do that from soemone who is the swimming equivalent of the person who has the bumper sticker on their car that says "Don't follow me. I'm LOST!" And I have seen some really erratic swimmers. I may tend to veer some to the left, but there are some people who keep zigzagging back and forth. They first get skewed one way, then to gte back in line they end up overcompensating....and back they go the other way, at a 45-degree angle to the general straight-line flow. In a 750-meter swim, say, these people must end up swimming about 1200m.

(And I'm not laughing at anyone here, as my veerish ways have put me badly off-course once or twice, including my first year at Eagleman where the combination of my veering and the in-coming tide took me quite a ways off the straight-line, and I figure it cost me several minutes -- and turned a 1.2-mile swim into soemthing a fair bit longer.)

The great thing about Escape, and Timberman, is that in 0.3 mile......there isn't too much acreage to go too far astray! Plus, the Escape course is a beauty, just a straight shot from here to there. I don't think I have ever done one of those before!

Related to #11 and #12, when I mentioned Blocking that means that when you complete the pass pull over as soon as you can to the right - just in case someone is coming up behind you, too.

If you find yourself making a "mistake" with this stuff, be gentle on yourself. Even experienced triathletes will complete a pass and then just take their time getting over. It all comes from just having your mind channeled several different ways, including looking ahead and thinking about what'sc oming up -- the next rider, the hill, the turn, the intersection, whatever.

You will likely hear people behind you yell "Left!" or "To your left!", and while it may sound like they're barking at you, all they're really trying to do is let you know that they are coming up fast on your left and need you to keep your line to the right. It doesn't mean that you aren't where you are supposed to be, so try not to take it personally. (But again, I have had people yell that to me.....and I've ralized that I AM still in the "passing lane". Oops!)

KASIA -

See the above post to Tracey, which also might help you a bit on Sunday!

Good luck everyone
 

TRACEY again -

99.9% of triathlons have "chip" timing, the chip being an electronically-enhanced plastic thing that records your time whenever you pass over a timing mat*. The chip itself is attached to a velcro strap that is worn around your ankle. They weigh just about nothing, and are very inobtrusive (unless they start chafing, that is, which prompted to BG suggestion before). If you go to just about any tri or du race photos, look at people's ankles and you can see the black chip-strap.

(Another kind of common beginner's mistake is to put in on the wrist -- which unless one is in crawling mode, it won't transmit to the timing mat. And none of us want to be reduced to crawling mode! )

*The timing mats are strategically located so as to give five "splits": swim time, T1 time, bike time, T2 time, and run time (which also equates to finish time).

(The local race series makes me crazy because it provides just three splits, with the bike time usaully including T1 and T2. But sometimes, the swim time will be the swim + T1, and the run time will be T2 + run. Either way, I HATE it! GRRRRRRR!!!!)

Ok, next set of questions from me is about race belts.

I thought you only had to wear the number on the run. Is that correct? Or do I need it for the bike as well?

And also, there's the BodyGlide question:

Besides the neck and under the chip strap on the ankle, what are other wetsuit-chafing prone areas? I know my running and biking pretty well, but the wetsuit has me confuddled.

Kasia

KASIA -

It depends on the race as yo when tou are expected to have your bib on your person. In general, for races that supply umbers that get attached to your bike, it's not required that you have your bib on during the bike. Bit most races do not supply separate numbers for the bike, so usually the bib is worn then.

You will be body-marked, maybe in multiple places. Most races have body-marking on the thighs and at least the left upper arm; the latter is so that marshalls on motorcycles can see your race number. But that only works if people are sleeveless, and anytime sleeves are worn, at least part of the arm number is obscured. (And with thigh-marking, usually part or all of that gets covered by anyone who wears conventional tri shorts.)

If in doubt about whether to wear your number during the bike, just ask. In that case it is best to ask an official, or the race director, or someone at packet pick-up.

As for BodyGlide, for chafing that would be:
(1) neck (183% definite!!)
(2) under your chip strap
(3) around the arm holes of your top, if you are going sleeveless

For lubrication (ease of removal purposes):
(1) lower legs, both front and back (definite)
(2) wrists and forearms (optional)

I use PAM for lubricating, simply because it is less expensive. Well, I also think it works better, is very slick. Swoosh, swoosh!
Another place I will spray the PAM is on the outside of my wetsuit from the knees down. This is so that when I am taking it off and it gets jumbled down towards the bottom, it can slide over itself more readily. Before long, you will know what I'm talking about here, as it's just a matter of time before you seem to be 90% done taking it off, but you look down at your feet and all you can see is a big blob of neoprene, kind of gridlocked around itself.

And remember -- no Vaseline or other petroleum-based product. (That means no tar-balls from the Gulf of Mexico! )

DWAYNE -

Thank you! And, when is your next one?

TRACEY -

Okay, now that you have had a day or two to digest the penalty stuff, let me take it one or two small steps further.

First, the degree of penalty-time for USAT races varies according to the length. I think it is:
Sprint --- 2:00 first offense, 4:00 second offense
Olympic/Intermediate --- same
Long, or Half-Iron --- 4:00 first offense, 8:00 second offense
Ultra, or Full iron --- 6:00 for 1st, 12:00 for 2nd

In addition, some of the longer races are now having people actually sit out the time, rather than have the time added to their finishing time. This works by the marshall actually pulling you over and puttimng a big mark on your bib, and when you get to the next aid station you have to sit there for the designated time. So, if you draft in some Ironman races, you have to sit out 6:00; think of it like a penalty box in hockey or lacrosse!

Second, there is a technicality between what i called Blocking and what is also called Postion. blocking is when one willfully dsatys to the left to prevent someone from passing. position is when you just hang out there because you forgot to pull back in to the right.

Third, I might've mentioned this before, but another is Overtaken, and one is guilty of that if they failed to drop back three bike lengths before re-passing. So, if I'm passed, the onus is on me to drop back three lengths before I try to pass the person who just passed me. This is a tough one to avoid for aggressive riders, simply because they often get stoked to pick up their pace as soon as they are passed; it is not intuitive to la-de-da on a drop-back before trying to re-pass!

Last, you cannot receive Outside Assistance, which means your husband can't be there handing you a gel on the run, or running alongside you helping you to keep your pace....stuff like that.


Are we at the TMI point yet --- as in Too Much Information? (If so, just tell me to shut up!)

An observation from the peanut gallery at IMSG - Penalties were few and far between.  They actually had three special penalty box tents along the course - big yellow topped ones.  If you had to serve, it was quite obvious to everyone you were in there.  Supposedly, they handed you an egg timer and when it went off, you gave it back and could go.  But, I never saw a single penalty being served.  As for blocking - it got so bad on the course at times that I'd look back over my shoulder, make sure there was no referee coming, and I'd cross the yellow line to get around people.  There would literally be 4 people across a lane, riding side by side at the same pace.  There was no way to pass unless you crossed the left side line. 

Steve:

I won't forget to thank the volunteers, I'll be doing that the entire time!

And thanks for the reminder that in the end, this is supposed to be fun.

Kasia:

My swimming instructor also told me to put Body Glide around the armpit/inside of the upper arm area.

Makes me think of the dunce corner or something...

I OWNED that corner when I was a kid!

STEVE -

That apparently is the positive flipside of the overcrowded domestic M-Dots, that there are SO many people on course that it is impossible to be in violation of any number of infractions during the course of 112 miles. I have heard that the refs are focused on the front-runners, say the first couple hundred onto the bike. After that, for the hoi-polloi it's just on faith that they are not trying to cheat or play nasty. And for the most part, that is a fair assessment, I think.

That is great about your motivation being all of the way back. See? Nothing to worry about all along! As for the fitness, it did what it was supposed to do, which was take a backwards step during those halcyon days of eateatsleepeateateatsleepsleepeat. Now that your motivation is back, you should find that your fitness is not far behind it. Before you know it, you'll be in full Vineman form!

Hear you ROAR!!

A BUSY SUNDAY!

KASIA
Summer OPEN Sprint Triathlon
Longmont, Colorado
8:00MST

DENISE and MARK
Land Between the Lakes Triathlon
Albert Lea, Minnesota
9:00CST

ME
Columbia Triathlon
Ellicott City, Maryland
6:55EST (wave #3)


KASIA! MARK! DENISE! Have great races, and fully dig the vibe!

YO, GANG!

It's 10pm now, and I'm off to bed so I can wake up about 4am and leave by 5am. I am laptopless (Hmmm. THAT doesn't sound so good! ), so won't be back until late Sunday evening. I hope you all have very fine weekends, and I'm gonna miss you! See you in about 48 hours!

Thanks for posting this summary, Steve.   I have been absent from the computer for a few days and have missed alot.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say I hope you have a fantastic race on Sunday, with no unpleasant surprises.    Can't wait to hear all about it.   I have read some of the stuff you had posted for Kasia and Denise and thinking back to my first triathlon, it is so bang on.   You didn't miss a thing.

KASIA - Best of luck on your first race.   As I mentioned to Steve, EVERYTHING he told you is SO accurate; you are going to be on such a high after this race.   You will feel like an Ironwaman!   One thing really stuck out - EARLY, EARLY, EARLY.   I take that to the extreme, I think - usually the first or second at the race site but besides casing the joint, the best part of triathlon is experiencing the atmosphere - , the tension, the excitement, getting to meet new people (although some people will not want you to talk to them - they're the really serious ones!), and the time before the race starts absolutely flies.   I have several friends who are always late and I can't tell you the stress they have.   

MARK and DENISE - Hope you both have great races, as well.   It is going to be so cool to meet each other.   I am envious, and really hope to be able to meet some of our group. 

Looking forward to reading all the race reports and seeing pictures, of course!

GO GROOVETIMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!